No. 3 Point Park slugs four home runs in upset of No. 2 Jessup in Waleska Bracket
WALESKA, Ga. -- No. 3 Point Park (Pa.) opened their run in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round by hitting four home runs on their way to a 13-10 victory over No. 2 Jessup (Calif.) on Monday (May 13) in the Waleska Bracket.
The Pioneers has six players record at least two hits in the contest on their way to 14 hits as a team. They also hit four home runs and erased a 7-6 deficit after scoring five in the seventh and two in the eighth.
With the win, the Pioneers improve to 42-13 as they advance in the winner's bracket, where they'll meet the top-seed Reinhardt (Ga.) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
After Point Park had tied the game in the top of the fifth, the Warriors (39-10) regained a 7-6 advantage in the bottom half thanks to a solo home run by Kayde Iranon.
The game remained that way until the seventh when the Pioneers scored five runs on three hits. Jordon Campbell reached on a one-out walk and stole second before scoring on an RBI single by Luis Gonzalez to tie the game at 7-7.
Carlos Burroughs followed with a single, and Omar Morillo walked to load the bases for Jared Campbell. The senior stepped to the plate and his 17th home run of the season, a grand slam to left center giving his team an 11-7 lead.
The Warriors answered with three in the bottom half of the seventh to make it a one-run ballgame, but the Pioneers got a couple of key insurance runs in the top of the eighth.
Morillo plated the first run on an RBI single before Isaac Santana drove in a run after being hit with the bases loaded to make it 13-10 in favor of the Pioneers.
Jessup threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out, but a pop out and a strikeout ended the threat. Then in the ninth, the Pioneers turned a double play to clinch the 13-10 upset victory over the Warriors, who ranked No. 12 in the final NAIA baseball top 25 rankings.
Ramon Rodriguez picked up the win and improved to 11-2 on the season. The southpaw tossed six innings and allowed eight runs – six earned – on four hits with five strikeouts. Javier Cardoso II pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed three hits on his way to his third save of the season.
Morillo led the way at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Eddie Javier Jr. had a home run, a double, two RBIs, and two runs, while Burroughs had a home run, two RBIs, and two runs.
Jared Campbell had two hits and drove in four runs, Jordon Campbell recorded two hits and scored three runs, and Carlos Martinez added two hits, an RBI, and a run.